Flora, Illinois

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1948 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Harter Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62839. The Survey maps it on the Flora quadrangle. 4,803 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 482 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Flora within Clay County

On record in Flora

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 3 records

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Depotlisted 1998
Pearl and Bess Meyer Houselisted 2001
Shriver Houselisted 1983

Population over time

2 figures

Flora fell from 5,070 to 4,803 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	5,070
2020	4,803	-267 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1948 USGS Flora quadrangle1:62500
1949 USGS Flora quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
1958 USGS Belleville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1962 USGS Belleville quadrangle1:250000
1970 USGS Flora quadrangle1:24000
1986 USGS Olney quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

Fires near this place

1 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Flora in 2010, burning under an acre in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 November 2010	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Illinois Division of Forestry Resources	KINCAID

Every fire recorded in Clay County

Storms near this place

60 of 102 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Flora in 102 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 70 thunderstorm wind, 19 hail, 6 flash flood, 4 tornado. The reports record 16 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
April 1998	Tornado (F2)	Flora	8 hurt, $2,100,000	no account filed
April 2002	Tornado (F1)	Flora	5 hurt	A tornado touched down 2 miles southwest of Flora near the intersection of county road 1000E and 200N. At this location, it turned an unattached garage on its foundation. As the tornado travelled east along 200N it destroyed a mobile home. The three occupants sustained minor injuries. Debris from the mobile home was blown up to a mile away. It damaged 3 additional homes and a mobile home. Also, numerous trees were blown down and a propane tank was thrown a quarter of a mile. At the intersection of 1100E and 200N, a car was rolled three times and thrown into a ditch. Two occupants in the car had minor injuries, but refused treatment. As it continued east, the tornado destroyed an outbuilding. The last evidence of damage due to the tornado was located on county road 1500E, just north of 200N. Several powerlines and trees were blown over causing minor damage to a house and car.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	3 hurt, $10,000	A large tree limb was blown down onto a car along Route 50 west of Flora. 3 people inside the car were injured.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$175,000	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down around Flora. Some large trees fell onto houses.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$80,000	Numerous trees, tree limbs, and power lines were blown down in and around Flora. One falling tree caused severe damage to a pickup truck. Several mobile homes had skirting and siding blown off.
April 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$70,000	Several trees and tree branches were blown down in Flora, knocking out power to half the town. One house was severely damaged by a falling tree.
October 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$55,000	Numerous trees were blown down in Flora. Two of the trees fell on houses and another hit a parked vehicle. A grain trailer was blown 100 yards away from the Cargill building, and the siding was ripped off a garage.
May 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$40,000	Several large tree branches and power lines were blown down in Flora. Shingles were blown off a roof on Austin Avenue.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$35,000	Several trees were blown down in Flora.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$30,000	Twenty-five to thirty feet of hangar roof was blown off the Flora Airport and blocked the road on the west side of the airport.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$30,000	Numerous 6-inch diameter tree branches and powerlines were blown down on the northeast side of Flora.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$25,000	A large pole barn had half its roof blown off.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$24,000	Several 10-inch diameter tree branches were blown down in Flora.
August 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$20,000	Several large tree branches were blown down in Flora, including one that landed on a house.
August 2013	Lightning	Flora	$20,000	Lightning struck a garage on East 9th Street in Flora. The resulting fire caused significant damage to the garage.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$20,000	Several trees were blown down.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$20,000	Several trees and power lines were blown down in Flora.
February 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$15,000	Five power poles were snapped along U.S. 45 north of Flora.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$15,000	A barn door was blown in northwest of Flora and numerous tree limbs were blown down.
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$12,000	A tree was blown down in Flora. In addition, numerous large tree limbs were knocked down around town.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$12,000	A tree was blown down onto a house in Flora.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$10,000	A 2 foot diameter tree limb was blown down in Flora. Numerous power outages were reported on the south side of town.
September 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$8,000	A tree was blown down onto a house in Flora.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$8,000	Several tree limbs were blown down.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$8,000	A tree was blown down and a metal roof was stripped off a shed.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$8,000	An 8-inch diameter tree limb was blown onto a garage on Old Route 50 and Mahogany Road. Minor roof damage was reported.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$8,000	Power lines were blown down.
August 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$8,000	A few trees, tree limbs, and power lines were blown down. Some roofing material was torn off a building downtown.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$7,000	A power pole was blown down 4 miles west of Flora.
August 2014	Lightning	Flora	$5,000	Lightning struck a house on the west edge of Flora causing a small fire.
August 2012	Lightning	Flora	$5,000	Lightning struck Highway 50 in Flora, creating a hole 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$5,000	A 10-inch diameter tree limb was blown down onto a power line causing a power outage.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$4,000	A large tree was blown down onto a deck.
October 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$4,000	A 10 by 12 foot shed was destroyed and a few power lines were blown down.
August 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$3,000	Two trees were blown down in Flora.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$3,000	A tree was blown down in Flora, and another was knocked down about 1 mile northwest of town.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$3,000	A two foot diameter tree was uprooted.
August 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$2,000	A 13-inch diameter tree was blown down on the 700 block of West 12th Street.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$2,000	A tree was blown down at Moore's Mill Bridge.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$2,000	A tree was blown down across Route 45 just northwest of Flora.
April 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$2,000	A 30 foot tall tree was blown down.
April 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	$500	Large trees were blown down in Flora. A storage building was blown over in Clay City and large trees were blown down. A funnel cloud was reported near Sailor Springs.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	Several trees were blown down just north of Flora.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A tree was snapped and power lines were knocked down.
May 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A large tree was blown onto a house, trapping people inside. No injuries were reported.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A power pole was blown down on the south side of Flora.
July 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A large tree branch was blown down.
August 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	Multiple trees were blown down, and a light pole was knocked down at the baseball field.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A tree was blown down.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	Around 5 power poles were blown down along Route 45 in Flora.
August 2020	Flash Flood	Flora	-	Water was flowing across Blue Mound Road from surrounding fields, prompting the road to be barricaded. Flooding also occurred on Hanging Rock Road southwest of Flora.
June 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A tree was blown down on the 500 block of East 4th Street.
June 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	Several trees were blown down, including one that fell through the roof of a house.
August 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A 12-inch diameter tree branch was blown down across Long Leaf Lane about 2 miles north of Flora.
August 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A 5-inch diameter tree branch was blown down onto Highway 45 about 1 mile north of Flora.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across Flora. One tree fell onto a house.
July 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A few tree limbs and power lines were blown down in Flora.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	Few trees blown down. Grain bin damaged near Clay City.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	A mobile home was flipped over. Also, several large tree limbs were blown down.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Flora	-	Large tree limbs were blown down across town.

Every storm recorded in Clay County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Kenner	4.7 miles	10
Maysville	7.0 miles	11
Clay City	7.1 miles	11
Louisville	7.2 miles	9
Camp Travis	8.2 miles	11
Xenia	8.2 miles	10
Sailor Springs	9.2 miles	9
Hoosier	9.4 miles	9

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Flora	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q577090	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 408465. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.